30 of 46If this isn't the perfect color for a Lancia Fulvia, then we don't know what is.

Photo by Jay Ramey

31 of 46Modern Mustangs turned out as well.

Photo by Jay Ramey

32 of 46When was the last time you saw a Mustang II?

Photo by Jay Ramey

33 of 46A well-used Lancia Fulvia in a nice color.

Photo by Jay Ramey

34 of 46Another one of our favorite muscle cars from 2012.

Photo by Jay Ramey

35 of 46When was the last time you saw a Lancia Beta this clean?

Photo by Jay Ramey

36 of 46One of several Mercedes-Benz 300SLs at lime rock last year.

Photo by Jay Ramey

37 of 46Here's a sharp Mercury Cougar, a model we haven't seen in a while.

Photo by Jay Ramey

38 of 46Peter Kalikow's Momo Mirage.

Photo by Jay Ramey

39 of 46One of several dozen Porsche 356s we saw last year at Lime Rock.

Photo by Jay Ramey

40 of 46Here's a nice race-prepped 911.

Photo by Jay Ramey

41 of 46A Rolls-Royce Silver Spur laps the track.

Photo by Jay Ramey

42 of 46There were plenty of relatively recent Porsches as well.

Photo by Jay Ramey

43 of 46We lost track of all the rare Audis that we saw last year.

Photo by Jay Ramey

44 of 46This was a sharp W116 Mercedes-Benz.

Photo by Jay Ramey

45 of 46We're pretty sure there were over a hundred Porsches alone last year.

Photo by Jay Ramey

46 of 46There were too many excellent 356s to keep track of.

Photo by Jay Ramey

This Sunday the storied Lime Rock Park in the northwest corner of Connecticut will feature its popular concours event, a tradition going back decades. Lime Rock Park itself perhaps needs no introduction, but its Sunday in the Park Concours event is still one of the best kept secrets of classic car events in the eastern United States.

Each year thousands of cars make their way to Lime Rock for Labor Day weekend, with the concours event on Sunday bookended by classic racing on Saturday and Monday. In the years that we've attended the Sunday Concours event, we've seen a greater variety of cars than at all concours events in the northeast taken together: everything from a De Tomaso Pantera to a Fiat 124 Estate to a Tatra 603 saloon. And the setting itself is nothing short of spectacular, as more than 500 line entire racing circuit. Racing personalities from all over the world make the trip to Lime Rock for Labor Day weekend, and last year we saw Sir Stirling Moss chatting with visitors and signing autographs. Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the 2012 edition of Lime Rock Sunday in the Park.

When was the last time you saw a De Tomaso Longchamp? Photo by Jay Ramey

Here's an Italian car we don't see too many examples of: a De Tomaso Longchamp. Don't remember these from your import dealership from the early '70s? These weren't exactly oil crisis-friendly, but you have to admit they've aged magnificently. Penned by Frua, the Longchamp was first shown at the 1972 Turin Motor Show, and was heavily based on the De Tomaso Deauville. After Maserati's purchase of De Tomaso, the Longchamp was facelifted into the Maserati Kyalami, in one of the more impressive remixes of the time. The Longchamp stayed in production till 1989, gaining various scoops and arches in the process, scoops and arches that were perhaps leftovers from the Countach production line. It's a real treat to see one of these early examples from 1974. This Longchamp is owned by Walter Eisenstark and Richard Klein.

Here's an interesting 1989 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Sapphire in RHD. If you think you've seen this car somewhere, you've probably seen it on Bringatrailer a couple years ago. This rear-wheel drive example brought into Canada in pieces from the UK, and later wound up in Ohio. These were built in Belgium in RHD and LHD form in 1988 and 1989 only, and boasted a Cosworth 2.0-liter inline-four engine with Garret turbochargers making 204 horsepower. When something is brought from country A into country B in pieces, and then winds up in country C, usually some parts get lost along the way. And this Sierra managed to lose a pretty important part: its Cosworth engine. The engine in the car is a US-spec 2.3-liter turbo, instead of the 2.0 Cossie unit, which is a bit of a shame. But when you're putting together a Ford Sierra sedan in 1:1 scale like a Revell model kit, some substitutions have to be made. Besides, who else do you know with a RHD Ford Sierra RS in the United States? Our point exactly.

A sharp BMW 1600 GT, a Glas GmbH design. Photo by Jay Ramey

Now this is a German car you don't see every day. This BMW 1600 GT was actually one of three Glas-designed cars at Lime Rock last year. BMW bought the Glas design (the whole company actually) and fitted their own engines to the stylish, Italianate body, adding a kidney grille in the process.

This was one of the best surprises at Lime Rock last year, a Citroen Visa Club from 1980. Photo by Jay Ramey

There were plenty of French cars last year at Lime Rock's Sunday Concours, the turnout being second in size only to the annual Citroën Rendezvous in upstate New York. While there were plenty of Citroën 2CV and Citroën DS sedans, it was this mint 1980 Visa Club that caught our eye. To answer your next question: there are less than ten of these in North America, and this one was brought in relatively recently. Unlike other models, these were never officially sold in the U.S., so all examples in the country right now are either gray market imports or recent private import brought in under the 25-year rule. The Visa itself was made from 1978 till 1988, when it as replaced by the Citroen AX, and these were quite popular small cars in Europe at the time. Featuring a compact four-cylinder suitcase engine, more than a million of these were built, though they were never thought of as even warm hatches.

When was the last time you saw a Lancia Beta this clean? Photo by Jay Ramey

Here's another rare Italian car, a 1982 Lancia Beta Zagato, We almost forgot that these were still in production by that time. And yes, 1982 was the last year Lancia sold cars in the U.S., not that they have much to show for it. These are exceedingly rare in concours condition, especially on this side of the pond, so it was great to see this sharp example owned by Jerome Roth and David Lemieux.

This was one of our favorite American cars from Lime Rock Concours 2012, a Plymouth Satellite Sebring. Photo by Jay Ramey

While there were plenty of muscle cars at Lime Rock Sunday in the Park last year, it was this Plymouth Satellite Sebring from 1972 that caught our eye. One reason we don't see too many of these today is that they came out just before the oil embargo, and were quickly replaced with much less impressive offerings. More than a hundred Ford Mustangs make the trip to Lime Rock every year for Sunday's concours, but it's the rare beasts like these that are most memorable.

When was the last time you saw an MGB in right hand drive? Photo by Jay Ramey

MGBs may not be all that rare in the U.S., but when was the last time you've seen a RHD example? This was one of more than a hundred British cars gathered at Lime Rock last year, though it was by no means the rarest. We saw everything from Lotus Europas to Sunbeam Tigers. And there was even an impressive contingent of Bentley and Rolls-Royce saloons. Thought you'd never see a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur II or a Bentley Turbo R from the late 1980s lapping Lime Rock? We have, and it was quite a sight.